1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to agricultural harvesters, and, more particularly, to troughs for an auger of an agricultural auger.
2. Description of the Related Art
Combines are used to harvest agricultural crops such as corn, soybeans, wheat and other grain crops. As the combine is driven through crop fields, the combine cuts the crop, separates the desired crop from the undesired waste, stores the crop, and discards the waste.
In a typical combine, a header is mounted to the front of the combine to gather the crop and feed the crop into the combine for processing. As the combine is driven through the field, the crop material is collected by the header and deposited into a feeder housing. The crop material is then transported upwardly and into the combine by a feed elevator located within the feeder housing. The crop material then passes through a threshing and separating mechanism. In a rotary combine, the threshing and separating mechanism includes a rotor, a threshing concave, a rotor cage, and a separating grate. As crop material passes between the rotor, the threshing concave and the separating grate, the crop material is impacted and/or rubbed, thereby causing the grain to separate from the stalk material. The stalk material that is separated from the grain is commonly referred to as material other than grain (MOG). Other types of combines are also known that perform similar functions using different mechanisms.
After passing through the threshing and separating assembly, the grain and MOG are deposited onto a grain cleaning system. The grain cleaning system of a typical combine includes a plurality of adjustable cleaning sieves, often referred to as a chaffer sieve and a shoe sieve. The sieves are typically reciprocated back and forth in opposite directions along an arcuate path. This motion has the tendency to separate the grain from the MOG. To further separate the grain from the MOG, a cleaning fan or blower is positioned so as to blow air up through the cleaning sieves. This flow of air tends to blow the MOG, which is typically lighter than grain, rearwardly and out the back of the combine. Grain, which is heavier than MOG, is allowed to drop through the openings in the sieve.
The clean grain that falls through the cleaning sieves is deposited on a collection panel positioned beneath the cleaning sieves. The collection panel is angled so as to permit the grain to flow, under the influence of gravity, into an auger trough positioned along the lowermost edge of the collection panel. The auger trough is typically positioned near the forward end of the cleaning sieves and extends along the width of the sieves. The grain collected in the auger trough is then moved by an auger towards the side of the combine where it is raised by a grain elevator and deposited into a storage tank or grain tank. Other systems also exist that can utilize, for example, a loop conveyor system which eliminates the need for a conventional cross auger.
One way to increase the efficiency of a combine is to reduce the weight of the combine, which lowers the power requirements for driving the combine. The auger and associated auger trough of the combine are attractive candidates for weight reduction, since they have relatively simple parts compared to other systems of the combine and can include a relatively large amount of heavy materials, such as sheet metal. If the size of the auger and auger trough could be effectively reduced, the weight savings could be significant and the smaller auger would allow for the functional components to be placed closer together, allowing a combine of similar capacity to be packaged in a smaller volume. One problem with reducing the size of the auger and auger trough is that this can reduce the crop material transporting capacity of the auger, which reduces the output of the combine. Further, the auger and auger trough can be placed close to components, such as the cleaning fan, in the combine that create pressurized gas streams. Placing an open-troughed auger too close to the cleaning fan discharge reduces the cleaning capacity of the combine due to the amount of material that is thrown from the auger into the cleaning fan outlet. Placing an open trough auger closer to the cleaning fan discharge will therefore decrease the capacity of the combine.
What is needed in the art is a way to reduce the weight of the auger and auger trough while overcoming some of the previously described disadvantages.